Judge rules Islamic Society suit can proceed
A Superior Court judge ruled yesterday that a defamation suit brought by the Islamic Society of Boston against media and Jewish rights organizations can go forward.
The suit alleges that the Boston Herald, Fox25, The David Project, Citizens for Peace and Tolerance, and others orchestrated a media campaign to stop the Islamic Society's attempts to build a mosque in Roxbury. The suit alleges that stories in the Boston Herald and on Fox Television in 2004, which asserted links between society officials and terrorist groups, were aimed at halting the project.
The nonmedia defendants, who have continually denied those assertions, argued the suit should be dismissed under a 1994 statute designed to protect private citizens who bring suits against developers.
Judge Janet L. Sanders ruled that the statute does not apply to the defendants in the defamation lawsuit. The ruling is a major victory, said Howard Cooper, attorney for the Islamic Society.
``For many months since my clients simply sought to file a lawsuit and redress their rights in court, all we heard was that we were attempting to intimidate people and we would end up having to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees," he said. ``The court has now rejected the defendants' arguments in their entirety and ruled that the ISB filed its lawsuit appropriately."
Jeff Robbins , attorney for some of the nonmedia defendants, said the denial of his request to dismiss the case was not a setback. He said he will appeal the judge's decision, but that if the case proceeds, his clients will welcome the opportunity to call the Islamic Society of Boston to answer their allegations in court.
``There is a very strong desire on the part of those who have been sued to lay out the evidence about the ISB on the public record," he said. ``They think this is a very important public service, to lay out who provided the funds to the ISB, to whom the ISB has made contributions."
Cooper called on the society's opponents to enter mediation on the dispute yesterday. If they do so, he said, the society would drop the defamation lawsuit.
Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in yesterday's City & Region section mischaracterized an offer made last March by the attorney for the Islamic Society of Boston, which has brought a defamation lawsuit against media organizations and others. The attorney offered to put his suit on hold if the other parties would agree to put their lawsuits against ISB on hold and enter into mediation. 